RANT: Public Restroom Etiquette (Friday, 01/08/10)

As several friends and family members know, I have a thing with public restrooms. Or to put it more plainly, people who use public restrooms (or design them). Specifically the men's room. I never, or hardly (thanks to those few embarrassing moments), use women's restrooms. From my observations, other men are disgusting!

My biggest issue with public restrooms is the washing of hands! I have found that men hardly wash, or even attempt to. They just do their business and walk out the door! Knowing that their hands aren't clean is really disturbing... and then to realize that their then touching the door handle so that they can leave! YUCK! I have to touch that same door handle with my clean hands.

And then there are the designers of these restrooms! Why do they make it where the door swings in, allowing those to come in without touching the door, but you have to touch it to get out! Don't forget the hand air dryer versus the paper towel dispenser! I know it's 'greener', but come on! I need those paper towels to use to open the door!

I guess I can rant on and on. But let me tell you of what happened Friday! While washing my hands in the restroom at work, I watched the guy before me. He had just finished washing hands and was drying them before heading out the door. He gets that funny 'I'm going to sneeze look" on his face, throws the paper towel into trash, sneezes three times in his hand, rubs his hands together to rub the snot in (I guess), slightly wipes his hands on his shirt, grabs the door handle, opens the door, and walk out! Ewwwwww!

How hard would it have been for him sneeze into the paper towel? Or how about wash his hands after sneezing! Surely he could have at least sneezed into his arm!

I just wish some folks would learn a some 'Public Restroom Etiquette'!

~Matt